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ExxonMobil’s Baytown Olefins Plant Explosion Injures 4 Workers, Including 3 Hospitalized with Burns

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An early morning explosion at ExxonMobil’s Olefins Plant in Baytown, Texas, injured at least four workers just two days before Christmas, including three hospitalized with burns.

ExxonMobil Explosion Shook Baytown Residents from Their Sleep

The Harris County Sherriff’s Office received reports of a “major industrial accident” at the ExxonMobil Baytown Complex shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time on December 23rd. People living in the area also reported feeling an explosion and seeing fire and smoke coming from the plant.

“I heard a big thump from my fireplace. My daughter called me from upstairs, in her bedroom, ‘Did you feel the house shake?’” one Baytown resident told Click2Houston.com. “I said I heard something, but I do not know, and she went online to check to see what was going on. She came downstairs and said, ‘Exxon just exploded.’”

The blast apparently erupted on a gasoline-producing unit inside the ExxonMobil Olefins facility, where it set off a fire that was still burning as of 5:00 a.m.

3 ExxonMobil Workers Suffered 2nd and 3rd Degree Burns, Another A Broken Femur

According to The Houston Chronicle, four men between the ages of 35 and 45 were rushed to Memorial Herman Hospital. Three were airlifted with 2nd and 3rd-degree burns, while the fourth suffered a broken femur and traveled to the hospital via ambulance. All were said to be in stable condition.

“Our emergency response teams continue to work to extinguish the fire at our Baytown Complex. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities,” ExxonMobil said in a Tweet posted at 6:27 a.m. “Air monitoring continues along the fence line. Available information shows no adverse impact at this time. No shelter in place has been called for in our community and near neighbors.”

So far, it’s not clear what caused this morning’s explosion in Baytown, which remains under investigation.

Explosion Was 3rd Incident at ExxonMobil Baytown Complex Since March 2019

Located about 25 miles east of Houston, the ExxonMobil Baytown Complex was founded in 1919 and currently occupies roughly 3,400 acres along the Houston Ship Channel. Today, the facility ranks as the second-largest refinery in the United States, with more than 22,000 employees and a production capacity of nearly 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

On July 31, 2019, an explosion on a recovery unit at the ExxonMobil Baytown Olefins Plant injured more than 40 workers and ignited a fire that continued to burn for more than seven hours.  Areas of Baytown west of the facility and south of Highway 330 were subject to a shelter-in-place order that remained in effect for over three hours.

The ExxonMobil Baytown Complex was also the site of a furnace fire on March 16, 2019. While the blaze sent a plume of flames and smoke into the air around Houston, no one was hurt in that incident, and authorities did not issue any shelter-in-place or evacuation orders.

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Our Undefeated Houston Refinery Explosion Lawyers are investigating the ExxonMobil Olefins Explosion in Baytown and will post an update when new information becomes available.

Having won Billions – including the #1 Largest Oilfield Burn Injury Settlement in US History – for thousands of explosion victims across Texas, Louisiana, and the United States, our Houston Refinery Injury Attorneys have the experience and resources to stand up against the largest industrial and petrochemical companies in the world and not just win for clients – but set records.

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If you or a loved one were injured in the Baytown ExxonMobil Olefins fire on December 23, 2021, call 1-888-603-3636, use the “chat” button on our homepage, or click here to send us a confidential email through our “Contact Us” form.

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